BEIJING – The governor of the western Mexican state, Silvano Aureoles, is in China to tout his region as the ideal gateway for Chinese companies seeking to enter the North American market.

Aureoles was in Beijing on Monday to begin a round of talks with Chinese government officials and business leaders.

The “uncertainty” created by the trade policies of US President Donald Trump, especially his repeated comments about scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), “obliges us, as a state, as a country, to turn our attention” toward Asia and its “enormous potential,” Aureoles told EFE.

In this context, the attractions of Michoacan’s Pacific coast city of Lazaro Cardenas – Mexico’s busiest cargo port – as a destination for foreign investment can only grow, the governor said.

On Monday, Aureoles met with Li Yong, assistant director-general of the China Investment Promotion Agency, to explain the advantages of doing business in Michoacan.

The state already exports avocados and berries to China and can also provide the Asian nation with beef and vegetables, the governor told Li.

Aureoles likewise pointed to “the great mining potential” in Michoacan, which has deposits of gold, silver, copper and iron.

Lazaro Cardenas is one of three sites in Mexico designated as Special Economic Zones, offering substantial tax incentives to companies that locate there.

And via the KCS railroad, Lazaro Cardenas can offer shorter shipping times to the US East Coast and eastern Canada than competing ports in the western United States.

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